1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for monitoring a workflow process, and more particularly to a system and method for monitoring a workflow process by generating an alarm signal.
2. Description of Related Art
Workflow is generally defined as a series of tasks within an organization to produce a final result. In particular, workflow, as defined by a workflow management system, is the automation of a business process, whether in full automation or partial automation, documents, information, and/or tasks are passed from one procedure to another according to a set of procedural rules. That is, a workflow defines a serial of procedures to be performed by one operator or more operators. The procedures may include updating an electronic form, reviewing information, etc. After the operator performs the procedure, yielded product or other information is then routed according to a next procedure. For instance, processing an on-line product purchase may involve numerous steps, such as receiving a customer order, routing the customer order to the credit department to produce an invoice and then routing the customer order to the shipment department to prepare product shipment. Once the product shipment is prepared, the product shipment and the invoice are then transferred to the customer service department for other procedures. Each of these procedures may be defined as a task in a workflow. When a prior task is not completed, a next task cannot be performed, thus, affecting the next task.
What is needed, therefore, is a system and method for controlling a workflow process, which can query data of the workflow process and generate an alarm signal for informing an operator to perform an incomplete task of the workflow process.